This invention involves a boat cradle and loading device attached to vehicle tops. Specifically, the invention is directed to a device which holds a small boat on the top of a car top and is structured to allow the boat to be placed in the cradle and removed from the cradle by a single person.
Roof carriers have long been the standard device for attaching and carrying goods on the top of vehicles. Recreational equipment and specifically small boats, such as small sail boats are popularly taken on vacations and trips, sometimes with great difficulty. One option is to attach a trailer to the back of the vehicle and carry the boat in that fashion. Unfortunately, this reduces the speed of travel and is difficult to handle, particularly for backing up by a novice. On the other hand, the common roof carrier is not a satisfactory device to attach a small boat to the top of the vehicle. The top of the boat is not flat and is further not constructed to hold and support the entire boat weight. Despite attempts to reduce the stress on the glass fiber structure, it is common to damage the boat in transit. Further, one of the advantages of these small boats is that they can be used by a single person, even in a remote area. Unfortunately, with the typical roof carrier, it is necessary to use two or three people to remove the boat from the carrier without damaging the boat or the single person trying to remove the boat. The small boats are generally constructed of glass fiber reinforced resin in order to achieve the light weight and style desired. While this structure is very satisfactory for the boat once it is in the water, impact with a sharp corner will relatively easily break the structure requiring the hole to be repaired before use. Further, the structure of these boats is designed to have the load bearing surface be the bottom of the boat and specifically the beam of the boat, which is typically glass fiber covered metal reinforcement. Thus to try to load and travel with a boat attached upside down to a roof carrier is not a satisfactory procedure.
While there are number of boat carriers, none address the needs described above and none attain the objects listed herein below.